2024 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 15: Bryce Young, Sincere McCormick, More

It’s fantasy football playoff time folks. No more messing around. If you are on a bye week - congratulations - you can think ahead. For the rest of us all that matters is the six inches in front of our face. If we don’t win this week, it’s over. Getting the right guys off the 2024 fantasy football waiver wire in Week 15 (or blocking your opponent) can make all the difference.

As always, we’re going to write three articles. This one will focus on the best odds for this week with perhaps a little consideration given to the next couple weeks. The Streamers article will have some deeper cuts. And the Stashes article will focus on handcuffs and Weeks 16 and 17 (please try not to have your championships in Week 18). So, let’s get to it!

2024 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 15 Top Targets

If this 2024 fantasy football waiver wire for Week 15 is your first time seeing this series, here’s a little idea of how we break it down.

There are too many articles out there that don’t take into account YOUR team's needs. Whether you just want the best player, you want someone to start now, or you are loaded and you want the best upside stashed, we have you covered. And we break it down like this:

• 2024 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 15: This is the current article where we focus on the best waiver wire picks for any format or team needs. Guys that can potentially be started now but also have season-long upside.
   
• 2024 Fantasy Football Streamers Week 15: These are players that are decent starts for Week 15 but might not have great long-term upside (perhaps it’s just a good matchup or the starter has a short-term injury, for instance).
   
• 2024 Fantasy Football Stashes Week 15: These are players that are very difficult to trust in a lineup right now. But we believe in the talent and the possibility of upside down the stretch. Every year there are certain rookies or backups that get a big opportunity and run with it at some point - like Trey McBride last year.

The 2024 fantasy football waiver wire for Week 15 you are currently looking at is free for everyone. The Week 15 waiver wire stashes and Week 15 waiver wire streamers articles are for Fantasy Alarm members only.

If you aren’t a Fantasy Alarm member yet, you can not only get 40% off your annual membership if you sign up right now or 50% off your first month with promo code LETSGO, but we are offering a 7-day free trial RIGHT NOW! You can check out everything we have to offer this week and decide if it's right for you!

P.S. At the very bottom of this article, I will update my Yin & Yang Tight End chart each week!

NFL Week 15 Waiver Wire Quarterbacks

Jameis Winston - Cleveland Browns, Yahoo: 34% | ESPN: 20% | Sleeper: 42%

The first time the Browns played the Steelers, it was a Thursday Night Football game in a heavy snowstorm. That led both teams to pull back on the passing. And Winson only attempted 27 passes in that game. Winston still managed to throw for over 200 yards and score a rushing touchdown. But not and ideal showing.

In his each of his other five starts, however, he’s attempted a minimum of 40 passes. In fact, he’s averaging an insane 46.4 attempts. Volume like that not only offers a decent floor but gives you big upside which has seen games of 334, 395, and 497 passing yards. The tempo is high with Winston and, with the Chiefs, Bengals, and Dolphins on the schedule (with the Ravens in Week 18 if you play then) I see no signs of that slowing down.

• Waiver Priority: Low or Free Add
• FAAB: 0-5% (more if he starts for you right away)

Bryce Young - Pittsburgh Steelers, Yahoo: 6% | ESPN: 4% | Sleeper: 14%

Anyone with eyeballs can tell that this team, and Young specifically, are playing better. They beat the Saints and Giants then took the Chiefs, Buccaneers, and Eagles to the wire in close games. Bryce Young had the $3 million mystery Eagles better shaking in his boots this week as Xavier Legette dropped a go-ahead touchdown pass at the buzzer.

Even with the drop, Bryce Young has thrown at leat one touchdown pass in each of his last six games. He’s also shown a little more mobility as of late - he ran 7 times this week and scored a rushing touchdown against Tampa Bay. The Panthers get the Cowboys, Cardinals, and Tampa Bay again so that schedule is actually pretty good.

• Waiver Priority: Low or Free Add
• FAAB: 0-5%

NFL Week 15 Waiver Wire Running Backs

Tank Bigsby - Jacksonville Jaguars, Yahoo: 46% | ESPN: 36% | Sleeper: 49%

We THINK Sincere McCormick has done enough to earn carries moving forward. But, with Tank Bigsby, we already know it. He’s been the more efficient runner than Travis Etienne all year. And this week they rewarded him by giving him 18 carries to only 4 for Etienne. 

Etienne still contributes on pass downs but, in the vast majority of situations, the starting back gets more touches and offers more consistency in fantasy. So, if Bigsby is still out there, that’s who we’re going for. 

• Waiver Priority: Late Priority
• FAAB: 5-10%

Sincere McCormick - Las Vegas Raiders, Yahoo: 16% | ESPN: 11% | Sleeper: 18%

Last week was “the big one” with Isaac Guerendo. This week maybe you go after Patrick Taylor if you have him (and we’ll discuss Taylor in the streaming article). But we don’t know for sure if Guerendo is going to miss the game on Thursday. 

And that also tells us that he’ll probably be back the following week if he does. With McCormick, he has a legitimate shot to hold onto the starting job. It’s the starting job for the Raiders but it’s also Week 14 and most backfields have long been settled. 

• Waiver Priority: Low or Free Add
• FAAB: 0-5%

NFL Week 15 Waiver Wire Wide Receivers

Cedric Tillman - Cleveland Browns, Yahoo: 34% | ESPN: 36% | Sleeper:48%

We prefer Romeo Doubs if he’s available. But he hasn’t been dropped in as many leagues as Tillman. The concept is similar for both moves though. Both players, when healthy, are the starting split end for their offense in full-time roles. Both players have led their team in targets for stretches. And we trust both quarterbacks to deliver the football.

With concussions, there isn’t typically supposed to be any sort of ramp up period or caution by the teams. The whole idea is that the player is cleared by an independent neurologist and are 100% good to go. Assuming they haven’t lost any of their conditioning over the last two weeks, these guys should be fully ready to go when they are cleared.

• Waiver Priority: Late Priority
• FAAB: 5-10%

Xavier Legette - Carolina Panthers, Yahoo: 28% | ESPN: 32% | Sleeper: 49%

If Adam Thielen is available, then we would prefer him. But he’s rostered in 70% of Sleeper leagues and over 50% of Yahoo leagues so he’s probably not out their on competitive platforms. Given how effective he’s been the last two weeks, we aren’t worried about Jalen Coker taking snaps from him when he gets back.

Legette is more widely available on these platforms. And he too has gotten 8 targets in each of the last couple of weeks. If we believe that Bryce Young is progressing, we should be taking shots on his weapons. Thielen and Legette have emerged as the top two. If Legette was able to squeeze that pass at the very end of the Eagles game this week, he’d probably be a lot higher on everyone’s list. 

• Waiver Priority: Late or free add
• FAAB: 0-5%

NFL Week 15 Waiver Tight End + Yin & Yang TE

Stone Smartt - Los Angeles Chargers, Yahoo: 0% | ESPN: 0% | Sleeper: 0%

Folks would often ask me “Who is my deepest tight end sleeper?” And the answer was always the same - Stone Smartt. He checks off every tight end meme in the book. He’s a former quarterback (Logan Thomas) who converted to wide receiver (Darren Waller) who converted to tight end. Both of his parents are former star college basketball players (Antonio Gates). And his real name is Stone Cole Smartt. You can’t tell me this guy isn’t fun.

On top of fun, he’s all of a sudden the best pass-catching tight end on the Chargers with Will Dissly and Hayden Hurst out. He came in this past week in the second half and caught three of three targets for 54 yards. This is a legitimate option all of a sudden both in real lineups and DFS, regardless of whether Ladd McConkey plays. It just depends on whether or not you have the stones to start him.

• Waiver Priority: Late or free add
• FAAB: 0-5% 

Juwan Johnson - New Orleans Saints Yahoo: 10% | ESPN: 14% | Sleeper: 19%

This one is less appealing with Derek Carr breaking his hand. Now he is set to miss multiple weeks which means Jake Haener will be the quarterback. Which is a shame because Juwan Johnson played a solid role this week running 30 routes, second only to Marquez Valdes-Scantling’s 33. 

Taysom Hill is not coming back so the role and the scheme won’t change. But the quarterback situation is certainly concerning. Maybe Haener leans into him, and he’ll have upside the rest of the way but starting him this week is risky business. 

• Waiver Priority: Late or free add
• FAAB: 0-5%

Week 15 Rest Of Season Tight End Rankings

At this stage in the season, we are gearing up for playoffs. You may still be hanging onto two tight ends using our Yin & Yang tight end strategy, but we will increasingly be focusing on having one guy we can trust for the three weeks of fantasy playoffs. 

With that in mind, we’ll be going with a linear set of “rest of season” rankings for the next few weeks before we start focusing on actual playoff matchups.